Treatment
by Zandrellia
Summary: What happens when you can't prove you aren't crazy? Do you continue with the delusion or do you give it all up for the sake of leading a "normal" life? Sarah is faced with the difficult task of choosing between two realities.
1. Stage One: Denial

**Treatment**

Obligatory Disclaimer: I clearly do not own any of the characters within (even those who may or may not be originals), any of the settings, concepts, or other potentially copy-written works within this piece. I am merely a vessel; A messenger who conveys a story, nothing more, nothing less.

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><p><strong>Stage One – Denial<strong>

The door to the young woman's room slammed heavily just before the woman downstairs called out. "I'm not finished with you, young lady!" Sarah threw her hands up while letting out a heavy sigh as she fell back onto her bed. When would her stepmother ever understand her? Probably never! Turning with a huff she lay there for a few moments in her self pity before a smile crossed her face and she jumped up, staring at the mirror.

"I really could use a friend right around now." She said and within moments her good friend Hoggle was sitting there, next to her, a concerned look on his face.

"Is something wrong, Sarah?"

She shook her head and pulled him close for a hug before letting out a slow breath. "No. I'm fine. I just don't think she is ever going to understand me."

His bushy brows came together in confusion. He had an idea of who "she" was, as "she" was often the topic of conversation. Sarah rarely talked about herself these days. Their chats had become more frequent and more often about her family and how they seemed unable to accept her for who she was. He really couldn't relate as not being accepted was rather typical of goblin lifestyle and the entire concept of family was odd but he tried the best he could to comfort her, obviously this family thing was important to her. Patting her on the shoulder lightly he said the first thing that came to mind. "Sarah, I know you care for these people – this family of yours – but if they don't appreciate who you are maybe it's time for you to leave."

The girl stiffened and her eyes widened. "Run away? Hoggle I could never do that!" She laughed at the idea but her laugh was broken and her eyes seemed to shiver with the concept. It had never honestly occurred to her that maybe she should just give up. After all, the last time she'd given up that easily her brother was kidnapped and she was forced to traverse a dangerous labyrinth of trials. That didn't exactly sound like a good idea to her.

He shrugged a little and started to speak but before he could say another word there was a knock at the door. Sarah turned to glare at the door. "What?" She yelled with anger and venom dripping from her voice. There was a pause before the door began to open. Her eyes widened in fear and she turned only to see that Hoggle was now conveniently gone.

"Are you alright, Sarah? I came up to apologize and then heard voices." It was her stepmother again. Sarah groaned and turned away from her forcefully, causing her dark curtain of hair to spin around violently. "I just wanted to make sure that everything was okay. If you need someone to talk to I am here for you. I know we haven't always got along like we should have but I do understand you more than you know. I was a young woman myself, you know."

Sarah rolled her eyes. Her stepmother was a boring woman who seemed only concerned with going to parties and anything that might improve her social status. To Sarah it was very apparent that the woman had only even had Toby as a means to solidify her relationship with her father. All of that really mattered very little to her, though. What bothered Sarah so much was how hard this woman was trying to replace her mother. "Just go away! I don't have anything to say to you!"

If she had bothered to notice Sarah would have seen how her words had hurt the woman. She stiffened as if someone was about to strike her and her eyes showed a hint of sadness. With a nod she turned away and closed the door with a small thud before heading downstairs to prepare dinner.

* * *

><p>The next day Sarah was in a much better mood. She had played with her toys, talked to her friends some more, read some of her favorite books, and written in her diary to let her feelings out. Entering the kitchen dampened her mood a little when she walked in on a happy scene of her family laughing over breakfast. Her father turned to her with still twinkling eyes and gestured for her to join them. "Sarah! Come eat! You have a test today, don't you? You need to eat breakfast."<p>

She marched over to the table and took up a piece of toast before turning and rushing out the door, books in hand. Her father frowned but shook his head and turned to his wife with a shrug. "Teenagers, what can you do?" The woman gave a small smile but the whole while her mind was going over the behavior that her stepdaughter was displaying. To her, something was definitely wrong.

As the day passed she couldn't shake the feeling that Sarah was hiding something from them and so she slowly went upstairs to break the silent code of trust that existed between a child and a caregiver. Her hand hovered above the golden knob before she let out a deep breath. What was she so afraid of? Sarah wouldn't even have to know! Giving a nod she opened the door and entered the young woman's room.

Glancing around, she shook her head in distaste. It really did look like a child lived in this space. Sarah really would need to grow up someday and give up all these silly trinkets. Her eyes settled on the little vanity in the room and she glanced over the items on the top. A small red book, she picked it up and thumbed through it but found nothing of real interest to her. Setting it down she reached over and opened a few of the drawers finding mismatched barrettes and hair combs before finding what she'd ultimately been after; A little pink diary with a small clasp on it.

Opening the diary she flipped to page one and began to read. Nothing unusual jumped out at her at first. The typical musings of a young pre-teen girl living her life: Someone at school was mean to her. She failed a test. She got a part in the school play. None of these events were particularly spectacular. Then, one day, she noticed a change.

"Dad has been dating a woman for a few weeks now. I didn't think much of it at first as he rarely brought her home. Apparently, they have become very close and he is now bringing her home for dinner tonight to 'make a huge announcement'. I hope he doesn't say they plan to marry. I don't need another mother! My mother is still alive out there somewhere and I love her. I don't need a replacement! Gotta go – dad is calling!"

The woman sighed as she remembered that night. Sarah was obviously a clever young woman as she knew what was happening long before the adults let on but she also had a very childish take on the whole event. It wasn't all about her, after all. She might have been happy but what of her father? She read on to find more resentment towards her existence from the girl until one day the diary took another extreme turn.

"No one will ever believe what happened last night! After coming home late I was treated horribly and expected to watch Toby with little to no concern for my plans. I am 15 years old! Practically an adult by now! When will they understand that I am not a live-in maid and babysitter for them?

Unfortunately, I took it out on Toby who was particularly obnoxious that night and said 'the words'. I didn't really expect anything to happen. Who would? Yet, they came and took Toby and then _he_ appeared. I don't even know how to describe how I felt right then. I was scared, of course, but also excited and something else that I couldn't quite place – fascinated?

The next thing I knew I was running through the labyrinth with just a few hours to go before Toby would be lost forever! If it hadn't been for my friends I'm not even sure if I would have made it!"

The entry continued on for several pages describing the girl's adventures. The woman shook her head at the clearly delusional fantasy and flipped through the pages to read the continuing entries. Fewer of the entries were about her life, like they had been before, and more were about these fantasy characters. Particularly a man named Jareth who Sarah seemed to have a certain romantic inclination towards and yet was afraid of him. It was as if this fantasy man was both the white knight that could save her from her existence and also the villain of her story. With a heavy sigh she slammed the book closed and left the room, going downstairs to make a few phone calls.

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><p>When Sarah returned home that afternoon she was surprised to find her father there. He usually arrived home from work later in the day. He and her stepmother were sitting in the living room looking concerned and serious. She frowned and entered the room forcefully. "What's wrong?" She asked, wondering what might have happened. Did her father lose his job? Was someone in the family sick?<p>

Her father looked up at her warily and then put his head in his hand, resting his elbow against the arm of the chair. "Sarah, you are going to go somewhere with your stepmother. You will not ask any questions and you will not argue. You will go and you will do as you are told. Do you understand?" He spoke with such force and his voice cracked in a way that worried her so she simply nodded.

The next thing she knew she was sitting in a very beige waiting room. She was uncomfortable and looked around. The name on the door gave her some hints as to what this was. This was a psychiatric doctor's office. Why was she here? Before she could think of any more a woman called her name out, causing her to jump and she nodded before standing and following the woman to a room.

The woman sat down in a large overstuffed chair and offered Sarah and her stepmother to sit on a large rather ridiculous looking couch on the opposite side of the office. Picking up a pad of paper and a pen she flipped through her notes before turning her attention to Sarah. "Sarah, do you understand why you are here?"

She shook her head and the woman gave a small smile before jotting something down on her paper. "My name is Dr. Jacobson but you can call me Wendy. I understand that your stepmother has some concerns and would like us to talk. You may choose to have her stay or you may ask that she leave at any time. This is time for you to let out any thoughts that you have and you are not required to share those with anyone else if you so wish. Do you understand?"

Sarah nodded and her stepmother balked a little but the doctor interrupted her before she could voice her complaint. "Mrs. Williams, I understand that you married Mr. Williams a few years ago, is that correct?"

"Yes."

"Did you have any contact with Sarah before your decision to marry?"

"No. I met her the day her father and I told her."

"I see." She wrote a few more notes down. "And how has Sarah's behavior been since that time?"

"Sarah seems withdrawn from reality. She doesn't seem to understand that her life is in the here and now. She also has extreme fantasies which she now seems to believe are real."

Wendy raised an eyebrow and looked over at the woman with curiosity. "And what do you base that last accusation on?"

Sarah had been listening quietly the entire time, rather enjoying watching her stepmother be made a fool of by the doctor, when her pleasure was suddenly shattered as the woman pulled out a small pink book and handed it to the doctor. Her eyes widened and she glared at her stepmother. "Hey! That's my diary! You had no right to go through my things!" Turning to the doctor she pointed towards her stepmother. "I want her out! This is supposed to be time for me, isn't it? How can she do this to me?"

"You heard her, Mrs. Williams. You'll have to leave, I'm sorry. You can wait outside." The stepmother stormed out of the room and Sarah let out a relieved sigh while reaching out expectantly for her diary. Surprisingly, however, the doctor set it on her desk and glanced at her notes again before looking back up at her. "Now, Sarah, let's get down to the real heart of things here. Tell me, what exactly is the labyrinth?"

Sarah's eyes widened and she gasped as she sunk back into her seat, defeated. The doctor already knew everything. She had acted like some sort of advocate but the whole while she'd known! There was nothing left to do but give them what they wanted.

Minutes went on and eventually an entire hour had passed by the time Sarah had finally finished her story. For her part Dr. Jacobson seemed genuinely interested, if not a bit amused. "And that is everything." She finished and the doctor nodded before jotting some more notes down.

"So, this Jareth character, he is your villain?"

Sarah's face contorted a bit in a mixture of pain and anger. "Not every antagonist is a villain." She said pointedly but chose not to go into detail as to what exactly she meant. If this doctor couldn't understand that wasn't her problem!

"So you don't hate him?"

The girl let out a small laugh under her breath and looked away. "Why should I hate him? He did exactly what I expected he would do. You can't exactly hate someone for that."

Wendy nodded and wrote some more notes before looking up and asking in all seriousness. "Then do you love him?"

Sarah's eyes widened and she stared at the older woman as if she had said something entirely horrible. "I don't think I need to answer that." Her voice was laced with disgust and her expression made it clear that she would rather talk about anything else.

"I understand. You don't have to talk about anything you aren't ready to." Wendy said with a nod before making a few more notes. She looked back up at Sarah and smiled before folding her hands in her lap. "Do you believe your experiences within the labyrinth were real?"

"Of course I do!"

"What would you say if I told you that they weren't?"

Sarah frowned and rolled her eyes. "Prove they weren't."

The doctor smiled and shook her head a little. "Prove they were. No one else has such fantastic experiences, at least not that they admit to. If you've truly experienced going to another realm and having such adventures then wouldn't you agree that the burden of proof is on you, Sarah? Stories are just stories; no one tries to claim that they went to the fantasy worlds that they make up. At least, no one who is telling the truth."

"But…"

"Prove they were real, Sarah. Until then, you'll have to keep seeing me."

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><p>That night Sarah took her first dose of pills; anti-depressants, or so they told her, something that was supposed to help her get over her "delusions". They had a horrible after taste and made he feel jittery. After her stepmother watched her take them she ran up to her room, slamming the door shut.<p>

There, on her bed, was her poor violated diary. Tears welled in her eyes and she fell onto her bed, pulling her diary to her chest. Her mind kept racing with the session with the doctor. The doctor had seemed so nice at first. How could she be so mean later? And why did she keep insisting that the labyrinth and the entire underground world was just a fantasy made up in her head?

Sarah groaned and turned, pulling her blanket over her head as she considered what the doctor had said. Could it really have been just some dream that she'd had? That would explain how Toby had magically ended up in his bedroom that night. Or why it was that nobody could ever see her friends – they would suddenly be gone whenever someone came in. Or why _he_ never seemed to be around anymore. Maybe they were right. She was nearly 16 and in a few more years she would be an adult. Perhaps it was time to put away her toys and fantasies.

Opening her diary to the last page Sarah scowled. She pulled the little pen that was neatly tucked inside the binder out and stared at the page for a while, considering what her final entry would be. What would be the first words that would declare her journey into adulthood? She smirked and decided and then put the words in simple print before closing the book and tossing it to the floor.

The most fitting words of goodbye she had ever spoken: "You have no power over me."


	2. Stage Two: Anger

**Stage Two – Anger**

They had read her diary again, of course, hoping to find more than the six little words she had put. When asked what she meant she just smiled and said that she agreed with them and that she had wanted to say goodbye to her fantasy world.

Those words hadn't really been for her lost childhood. They were actually a challenge to her family and the doctor who seemed to believe they knew so much better. She would never give up on the world that contained the labyrinth, on her friends, on _him_. It was, after all, only fair that she believed in him just as equally as he had in her. If Sarah was anything she was loyal.

She smirked as she stood in the hallway, watching as her stepmother crawled around on the floor looking for 'evidence' that she had slipped somehow. The room looked quite different than it had mere months ago. The toys, posters, costumes, and imaginative books were all packed away in the attic, locked with a key by the woman herself. Her stepmother, after having broken into her room secretly that first time, now took it upon herself to search her room regularly. "I don't know what you think you will find but I hope you enjoy looking!"

The woman turned to glare at her and the girl shrugged and walked away, bouncing down the steps and waving at her father as she went out. She walked along happily, ignoring those around her before settling on a quiet park bench beneath a large willow tree that provided both shade and shelter. It was her favorite sanctuary from those who would try to break her spirit. Reaching into her pocket she pulled out a worn book with a smile. "She thinks she is so clever." She said of her stepmother, with a small laugh as she opened the book to reveal a picture of her mother.

Tracing her fingertips over the image she let out a wistful noise of contentment. "Oh mom, I miss you. Why do I feel like you are the only one in this world who would understand me?" She kissed the picture gently and let out a sigh. "They think I am crazy. I took those pills for the first week until they trusted me enough to let me take them without a chaperone. Now I just throw them in the trash. They taste awful anyway."

Sitting up she pulled the book close to her chest and sighed before opening it to a few pages and reading over it. How could anyone doubt that this world was true? Just because it was in a book or because they had never experienced it themselves didn't mean it was fake, right? Besides, even if it was a fake world it wasn't like she was hurting anyone! She really didn't understand what all the concern was for.

Of course, she wasn't stupid by any means. Sarah understood that her father and stepmother likely overreacted to the fact that in the "fantasy story" Toby was indeed kidnapped by goblins and taken away, all at her request. They probably believed that Sarah would hurt the baby. She hadn't been asked to watch him since her first visit to the doctor. In fact, any time she motioned to do anything for him both parents jumped up immediately rushing her away from him.

Likely they believed she might hurt the baby or herself out of anger at them, her mother, whoever they felt was the cause of this make believe depression they claimed she was in. "I am not depressed!" She yelled out suddenly and a bird let out a screech as it flew away from her, leaving her behind. Looking up she had hoped it was an owl but it was only a blackbird.

Her hip started to vibrate and she jumped a little before taking out the beeper and glaring at it. Her father had bought it for her as a way for them to keep a leash on her. Whenever the home number rang her up she was to be home in five minutes or be grounded. With a sigh she let out a cry and kicked at the tree. "Oh, I just left! Can't I have any time to myself? It's not fair!"

She paused and brought her hand up to her mouth before letting out a giggle and shaking her head. No. It wasn't fair but that's just how it was. She took a deep breath before starting off home, never noticing that a large white barn owl had been watching her the whole time.

As usual her stepmother was waiting for her on the front porch, hands on her hips and glaring. "Where have you been? Don't you know that you're supposed to tell someone when you're going out? How many times do I have to tell you?" The woman went on and on. Sarah just rolled her eyes and went up to her room, throwing back a weak apology behind her. "Get ready for your appointment!" The woman called up as Sarah entered her room.

Right, the appointment, she'd forgotten. She sat down at her little vanity and brushed through her hair considering what she might tell the woman today. For the past few weeks she had gone from being absolutely certain that the world she had visited was real, to being somewhat uncertain, to being pretty sure that it was fantasy. Should she give it up now? No. That was terribly boring and obvious.

There would need to be a twist, something to thicken the plot a little perhaps. She considered her options. Mentally, of course, she could never write anything down these days. Perhaps she could tell them that she had always wanted to be a writer, although that would entirely go against her lifelong dream of being an actress. No. Or, maybe, she could say that she was just lonely and wanted to make up some imaginary friends? That wasn't too bad of a thought!

Pleased with herself she finished getting ready, tying her hair up neatly in a basic pony tail and checking out her very plain clothes. "You look so very ordinary." She said to her reflection with a small broken smile before plastering on her fake one and heading down the stairs.

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><p>"So it was all just a rather elaborate daydream in order for you to have friends?" Wendy asked with curiosity. Sarah nodded to confirm this. "I see. What made you so lonely that you had to make up friends who would do such terrible things to you, Sarah?"<p>

Sarah inhaled sharply and held her breath for a few moments. She hadn't considered that! Luckily she was quick to think of something, she just hoped it seemed plausible. Wendy might think she was crazy but the woman was pretty smart. "Oh I don't think they were all that terrible. I was young and materialistic, insecure, and honestly terrified. My friends helped me to overcome those obstacles in their own ways."

The woman nodded and flipped through her pages a few times. "Like, ah, Hoggle, was it? What did he do to help you? From what you told me he first was trying to trick you to take you back to the beginning of the maze, conned you into giving him some of your jewelry, and gave you a tainted peach which caused you to hallucinate. He seems rather selfish and sour. Not to mention that he was using some sort of bug spray on pixies at the beginning. I can't imagine why, fairies are such sweet and innocent creatures that grant wishes after all."

"Shows what you know." Sarah said with a giggle before covering her mouth at the woman's disapproving gaze. "What I mean to say is that not everyone is how we first view them as. A few negative behaviors don't exactly make the whole person bad. Nobody is perfect. Besides, Hoggle is a wonderful friend! He might be somewhat cowardly and materialistic but he stuck it out with me and we made it through to the end together."

"I see, so you are saying that not all those that we initially perceive as negative are always so?" Sarah nodded in agreement to that and the doctor made a few more notes. She then smiled at the girl. "I can see we are making some progress, then. I wonder, however, how you feel about your stepmother when considering your own judgment on people who you at first consider to be against you?"

Sarah stiffened a bit but paused to consider what the woman was saying. "I guess I am a little hard on her." She admitted and the woman nodded. "Still, I don't really understand her and she doesn't even want to understand me. I don't really know how to get through to her and make things better."

"Well that is part of why you are here, Sarah. Your relationship with your family is very important to you, isn't it?"

"Of course, I love my family even if we don't always get along."

Dr. Jacobson looked down at her notes and wrote a few more things before pursing her lips and bracing herself. Sarah always responded rather forcefully whenever she brought this subject up but she really felt this was the key to breaking through and getting the girl back on the right track. "You do love your family, so much that despite having difficulties at home you turned down something amazing to go back to them. Isn't that right?"

For a moment fear darted along in Sarah's glassy eyes and she looked away from the woman quickly. "I told you that I didn't want to talk about _him_!"

"I understand that, Sarah, but for some reason you seem to be contradicting yourself. I believe you'll understand your own motives better if you come to terms with your true feelings on this fantasy of yours and let it go. According to you he isn't a villain or a lover so what does Jareth mean to you, Sarah?" Wendy was certain this would get Sarah to her point of breakthrough. She really felt they were making progress here.

Sarah stared over at the corner of the room, suddenly very interesting despite being empty. Her mind began to think about the woman's question seriously. She had honestly never really sat down and considered it. What was he to her? Her lip quivered and she shook her head before hugging herself. The answer came to her so quickly that she had a hard time believing that it really was that simple. The seconds ticked away, loudly pounding in her head with her heart beats, and she swallowed to wet her suddenly dry mouth.

"Sarah?" The doctor seemed concerned now. She had never seen the girl this way before.

Her voice came out in a hushed tone with a small hitch to it; she was fighting back the tears as she continued to stare down at the floor – anywhere but that woman. "He's me."

* * *

><p>The session had ended rather abruptly with Sarah running from the room and the doctor sitting there silently. Sarah didn't even wait for her father to get himself together. She couldn't even think at the moment, all she could do was run. She ran for miles before finding her favorite tree.<p>

Rushing under the safe haven of the branches she flew against the trunk of the tree with a great sob and clung to it before beating her fists against it. "Why did I say something like that?" She screamed out as thunder rumbled in the distance. The tears began to stream down her face as she allowed all the emotions she'd bottled up inside since her fantastic journey had begun to come out.

She couldn't deny it. He was her and she was him, only in two entirely parallel worlds. His world was full of fantasy and mystery and no one questioned him, regardless of what he said, because they were afraid of him. In her world it was the opposite – everything was green and lush but hiding a great sense of emptiness. Everyone questioned her but only because they were afraid of how her answers might make them look, not because they cared.

The greatest thing that bound them to one another was that extreme sense of loneliness. Both of them were surrounded by others but neither by those who cared. Her crying intensified and she slid down along the tree and kneeling down to cup her face in her hands. She realized the truth then and there: Jareth wasn't the villain. She was.

He had given her everything he could give and all she had to do was imply that she might want it. She asked that her brother was taken – he took him. She asked for an adventure – he gave it to her. She asked for a challenge – he made it difficult. She wanted someone to see her for who she was – he did.

Yet when he asked for something, she… threw it in his face.

Letting out a sob she wiped at her face, now filthy with tears, and let out a whisper as the thunder roared above and the rain began to fall with an angry force. "I wish I could say I was sorry."


End file.
